


Pneumothorax

by Vincent_PancakeKing



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, Gay, Hospitalization, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Original Character(s), POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24687001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vincent_PancakeKing/pseuds/Vincent_PancakeKing
Summary: TRIGGER WARNING: bullying and fainting
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 2





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: bullying and fainting

I remember my very first friend ever. His name was Hunter. We knew each other since kindergarten and were inseparable ever since we started third grade. When we were in third grade, Hunter would get teased a lot because he had dark, thick eyebrows. I happened to like his eyebrows. Not just his eyebrows, but everything about him. He had sterling gray eyes, fair skin with a mole right under his left eye, and striking blonde hair that seemed to glow in the sunlight.  
One day while Hunter was being bullied, I found my chance to get to know him. I approached the bullies, puffed out my chest and shouted,  
“Leave him alone, you jerks! So what if his eyebrows are bushy? What are you going to do about it?”  
One of the bullies snorted at me. “What are YOU going to do about this fist that’s going to come in contact with your face?” he cracked his knuckles.  
I gulped. I was definitely in trouble now. I turned around to grab Hunter’s shirt and drag him along. We ran all the way to the playground and hid at the top of the slide. The bullies wouldn’t even be able to get up the stairs because one of the bullies is afraid of heights and the other had really bad asthma and couldn’t be up so high. I had asthma too, so I was already struggling to breathe. In fact, my asthma was worse than the bully below us. Everyone in the class knew.  
“You saved me!” Hunter cried. “Thank you!”  
“You’re welcome,” I managed to say, clutching my chest and coughing a bit. Hunter’s eyes immediately sank.  
“Oh… your asthma,” Hunter wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “C-Come on, let’s find the teacher.”  
We slid down the slide together and were once again confronted by the bullies. The one that was afraid of heights was about to say something before the asthmatic one cut him off.  
“No, not this time, Rune,” he said, then turned to me. “Asthma attack?”  
I nodded. My head was pounding. I could hardly breathe. My vision blurred more by the minute. I felt so heavy, as if I were just going to fall on the ground and never get up.  
I needed my inhaler, and I needed it badly.  
We all started walking to the teacher, who was standing in the middle of the field.  
“Guys, we need to hurry,” the boy named Rune said. “He’s turning purple.”  
I couldn’t take it. I felt like I was going to pass out. I tripped and fell on the grass, immediately falling unconscious.


	2. Part 1

That day was a very stressful day. Especially for Hunter. He was so stressed because I had just collapsed on the playground. I was taken to the nurse and I was given my inhaler, but I still couldn’t breathe. I was coughing hard. My parents and an ambulance were called. Hunter stayed in the nurse’s office with me. I wanted to hold his hand. My hand was freezing cold, and I knew he was warm. I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t. I could only struggle to reach for his hand. Hunter seemed to have gotten the message and reached for my hand. I weakly squeezed his hand.  
“You’re gonna be okay, Kenny,” he whispered. That was the first time anyone has called me ‘Kenny’. Not even my parents call me Kenny. It’s just always Kentaro.  
I managed to make a small squeak in response to what Hunter said, and he smiled. It was a sad smile. He felt guilty. I just knew it.  
‘I’m sorry that I dragged you into this’. I wanted to say that. He didn’t have to stay, but he did. I shifted to lie on my side, taking in as deep a breath as I could. My chest pounded after that breath. I coughed harshly, quickly letting go of Hunter’s hand. Hunter immediately got up.  
“Kenny!” he shouted. He then brought his hand to my mouth and kept it there. I froze. What was he doing?  
We heard footsteps rush into the room. Hunter and I turned to the door. The school nurse, my mother, and a paramedic were in the room.  
“What happened?” my mother asked.  
“He couldn’t breathe,” Kenny said. “So I-- So I thought I’d try and help a little.”  
“By restricting his breathing?” my mother asked, her voice raising.  
Somehow, when Kenny’s hand was on my mouth, my chest was hurting less. I could get more air into my lungs. I took in a few deep breaths when I felt that I could. Kenny lowered his hand from my mouth. Saliva spilled out of my mouth. It was thick and there was too much of it. It was almost like vomit, but clear since I haven’t eaten anything that day and drank nothing but water since that morning so I suppose that was all that was going to come out. I watched the saliva drip down Hunter’s hand and then looked up at my mother, who was walking over to me. She brought a hand to my forehead.  
“No fever…” she muttered. “Are you cold, honey?”  
I nodded a little. “Y-Yeah…”  
Hunter unzipped his hoodie. He draped it over my shoulders. It was so warm and it smelled like vanilla. I wrapped it around myself and smiled a little.  
“Thanks,” I said softly.  
“You’re welcome,” Hunter replied, patting my shoulder softly. At that point, the paramedic lifted me off the bed and carried me outside. I was put on a stretcher and was taken to the hospital.  
Test after test after test finally resulted in me learning that I had a pneumothorax. My asthma was so bad that my lung collapsed. The doctor advised me not to run very much until I was sure that I was stronger, and I was kept in the hospital for two more weeks. Every day in those two weeks, Hunter came to visit. It was great.


	3. Part 2

As the years went by, Hunter and I got even closer. I’ve learned that Hunter was really into sports, and had several trophies for swimming and basketball. He learned that I love to cook and bake. Mostly bake, since I have a pretty big sweet tooth. Whenever Hunter would come over, I always made a fresh batch of cookies or cupcakes as a snack. My mom says that I’m spoiling him.  
And honestly, I agree with her.  
Technically, Hunter saved my life that day when my lung collapsed. If he hadn’t had forced me to hold my breath, the doctor said I would’ve gone into cardiopulmonary arrest. If Hunter hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here either. I’m just grateful for him.  
One day when Hunter was coming over, however, he seemed a bit different. He was smiling, but it was a sad smile. When we were in my bedroom, the batch of hardly eaten cookies in between us, it was silent for a good ten minutes. Finally, Hunter spoke, his voice shaking a little.  
“I’m moving to San Francisco over the summer,” he said quietly.   
My eyes widened. Him? Moving up north? Right now, we lived in Beverly Hills. But now he’s moving up to San Francisco? And over the summer? Our 8th grade year is almost over! I didn’t know how to handle it. I started to tremble a little. I wanted to cry, but the only thing I was able to do was shake in place and hyperventilate. Hunter placed his hands on my shoulders.  
“Kenny,” he said softly. “It’s gonna be okay.”  
“But--” I sniffled. “But you’re moving away…”  
Hunter leaned forward and hugged me close, nearly knocking over the cookies. “Deep breaths,” he whispered.  
I took in a deep breath, then sighed. Hunter pulled away and smiled a little.  
“Good,” he said. “Let’s try and make these last few weeks last, okay?”  
I nodded, wiping my eyes. “Okay…”  
“Should we, uh… start with any secrets we might not be able to tell each other when it’s too late?” Hunter asked, picking up a cookie.   
I looked around my room. On my desk was a red pencil box, a orange pad of sticky notes, a yellow pencil sharpener, a green mega eraser, a blue notebook, and a purple jar of marbles. It was my own artistic way of saying I’m a closeted gay kid. I wanted to tell Hunter, but I was honestly scared that he would stop being friends with me for that reason. I decided to just lie and shake my head.  
“You’re lying, Kenny,” he whispered. He reached for my hand and took it. “You don’t answer my questions verbally when you lie. Come on, what’s the secret?”  
I took in a huge breath and then looked over at my desk again. I pointed at it. “What do you notice about my desk?” I asked.  
Hunter turned to my desk and looked at its contents. It seemed that nothing stood out very much to him. Then I saw his eyes widen and he turned back to me.  
“. . . are you gay?” he asked.  
My face flushed a little. “I am.”  
“Do your parents know?”   
I shook my head. “And I want to keep it that way for as long as possible.”   
“That’s fair,” Hunter took a bite from the cookie in his hand. “... I’m going to tell you my secret now.”  
“What’s the secret?” I asked.  
Hunter unzipped his hoodie. His shirt was a complete rainbow. Red, orange, blue, green, and violet was everywhere all looking like paint splatters. It was my turn to be surprised.  
“You’re gay too?” I asked.  
Hunter nodded. “Yes.”  
It was at this moment that I realized that Hunter was the embodiment of perfect, especially now. He’s gotten much taller now and has gotten more muscle from sports. He definitely looked more like a teenager than I ever could. Plus, Hunter was just so cute. I definitely saw that now.  
But I still have to remember that he is moving away soon. And that thought is going to eat at me until it happens, and then the thought of not seeing him again will take over that thought. I really didn’t know how else to process the new information-- first Hunter’s moving away, and he’s gay. I didn’t have a phone yet, but Hunter did. I only had a laptop. I could live with texting him through Twitter, but never could I live without hearing his soothing voice and seeing his adorable face every day.  
I can’t stand the thought of him leaving.  
Even while Hunter and I just continued to spend more time together in my house, playing Mario Kart on my Nintendo Switch and just trying to have more fun, my chest felt heavy. I kept getting distracted by my thoughts telling me that I won’t ever see Hunter again. At one point, I couldn’t take much more of it. I put down my controller and took a deep breath in. Hunter paused the game and turned to me.  
“Kenny?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”  
I sniffled and wiped my eyes. “I’m just going to miss you, that’s all…”   
I heard Hunter shift closer to me and hugged me close to his chest. I could feel his heartbeat against my cheek. It was fast and beating hard. I knew what that meant. I looked up at him. Tears were falling down his cheeks, but he was still smiling. That same sad smile he arrived with.  
“I’m going to miss you too,” Hunter gently patted my shoulder. I nearly started to hyperventilate. I was going to miss Hunter. I was going to miss his face. His hugs. The way he pats my shoulder to get me to calm down. I buried my face in his shoulder and hugged him back. The only thing I think I’d regret the most would be that whenever Hunter hugged me, I never hugged him back.


End file.
